Visual CADD™ Precision Drawing

Precision Drawing Options

Direct x-y coordinate entry - use the keyboard to enter precise x-y coordinates for the placement of object construction points.

Direct distance entry - use the keyboard to enter precise distance when the direction is constrained by ortho mode or the direction is determined by a mouse move or arrow key.

Direct distance-angle entry, also called direct polar coordinate entry - use the keyboard to enter precise distance and angle.

Geometric snaps - use various
geometric snaps for precise placement relative to existing objects, for example, snap to the end-point of a line, intersection of two curves, mid-point of an arc, center of a circle, etc.

Incremental snaps - snap to a user-defined distance when the direction is constrained by ortho mode, similar to direct distance entry except the distance is preset and incremental.
This option is not illustrated below.

Direct x-y coordinate entry

Use the keyboard to enter precise x-y coordinates, for example, 0,18{Enter} or 0,23{Enter}.
Coordinates can be either absolute from some fixed true origin, relative to the last point placed, or relative to a user-defined base-point.
The following example illustrates both absolute and relative coordinates.

Use menus and toolbars to draw an exactly vertical line of exactly 23 feet length with direct x-y entry.
Easiest to learn for a novice user; requires more mouse moves.

Direct distance entry

Direction can be determined by setting a user-defined angle to constrain directions, known as ortho mode, or by moving the mouse or arrow keys in any direction.&nbsp
Use the keyboard to enter precise distances when the direction is determined by one of these methods, for example, 23{Enter}.
The following example illustrates using ortho mode to set 45 and 0 degree directions with direct distance entry.

Direct distance-angle entry

Use the keyboard to enter precise distance-angle or polar coordinates, for example, 23,<90 or 23,<135, where the '<' indicates an angle in degrees.
Similar to direct x-y coordinate entry, the distance-angle can be absolute, relative to the last point placed, or relative to a user-defined base-point.
The following example illustrates relative coordinates with 90 and 135 degree directions.

Use shortcuts to draw exactly 45° and vertical lines of exactly 23 feet length with direct distance-angle entry and snaps.

Geometric Snaps

Visual CADD™ supports over a dozen
geometric snaps to place construction points relative to existing objects.
The
geometric snaps allow precise placement of constructions points by using the precision of the objects already placed, thereby often avoiding
measuring or knowing precise distances or angles.&nbsp
The following example illustrates snapping to a midpoint to precisely center a mullion in a window.

Grid snaps

The user can define a grid of precisely spaced snap points to help place construction points.
The display of the grid points can be turned on and off and automatic snapping to the grid can also be turned on and off.
The following example illustrates snapping to a grid of 0.1 inches to precisely place electronic components on a perforated prototype board.